“We feel very uncomfortable,” said mosque manager Mustafa Hussein. “I didn’t want to use the word hateful, but that is what it is.”

Surveillance cameras captured pictures of a young man and woman entering the center over the weekend. Police were called a short time later.

“We take it seriously because we don’t want somebody, maybe, to act on it,” said Rahman.

Adding to the unease – and the incident has caused a lot of that --, members said they’re not sure what the spray-painted reference to Palestine is supposed to mean because most of the members are not from Palestine.

“They are ignorant. If they came and said, ‘I hate you,’ I would say, ‘OK. Let’s talk about it,’” said Rahman.

People at the center are also left with big questions about what triggered the vandalism and why it happened now.

“Even on 9/11, it never happened to us before,” said Hussein.

There is also hope that a message of hate can start a dialogue that focuses on good.

“If you are angry, come and talk with us and learn more about who we are and you will discover we are just like everyone else in the world,” said Rahman.

Members said they’ll be watching out for additional problems, but they also hope this was just an isolated incident. The cleanup will begin Wednesday morning.